Writing Letters to the Editor

Read this Guide in Spanish here: Lee esta Guía en Español aquí

Why is writing letters to the editor an effective tactic? Submitting letters to the editors of your local newspapers is a powerful and effective way to get the word out about your campaign to a wide audience, including the paper’s readership, community leaders, and elected officials who often read letters to the editor to learn where their constituents stand on the issues that affect their community.

Note: You can write letters to the editor to voice your own concern about an issue or as part of a group.

Tips to keep in mind while writing

Know the word limit and keep it concise. Most newspapers will only publish letters that stay within a certain word limit -- usually 150-250 words. You can check the word limit on the Opinion page of your paper’s website or sometimes on the print version in the Opinion section.

Follow this outline. Introduce the topic, state your position, tell your personal story, state a few key statistics or facts about the issue, and conclude with your call to action. You only have a bit of space, so stay focused!

Mention your elected officials by name in the letter. Elected officials take notice when their name is in the paper and you can really get on their radar if you address them directly in a letter that gets published.

Reference the article you’re responding to in your letter  If you’re responding to an article recently published in the paper, include it specifically in your letter. Something like, “In response to Tuesday’s article NC Senate Bill has tougher penalties on sanctuary cities...”  You can shorten the title of the article to what’s needed to make your point in order to meet your word limit for the letter.

Read some sample letters from People Power activists across the country:

New Britain, CT | Providence, RI | Buffalo Grove, IL |Brattleboro, VT

Submitting your letter and next steps

When you’re ready, submit your letter. Go to your local newspaper’s website and search for directions for submitting it online. If you can’t, send it to wherever your newspaper receives physical mail.

Call the paper the following day to make sure they received your letter. This call will help bump your letter up in the line. You can follow this script: “Hi, I am calling to make sure you received my letter to the editor and ask if you know when it will be published?...Great, thanks!”

Check the paper each day after you submit your letter. That way, you’ll know as soon as your letter has been published and you can begin sharing it on social media and email listservs so it reaches an even wider audience.

Post a picture of your letter to the editor on your social media. It furthers your reach for new community members to learn about your campaign, updates your team on updates in the campaign, and could go viral! Use #PeoplePower to further your reach.

Email us a copy at info@peoplepower.org so we can amplify your message.

Email or mail a copy to your campaign target. If your letter is published, send a copy by email or print to your campaign target, such as an elected official, and make your next ask (a meeting, introducing specific legislation, etc).

If your letter isn’t published within a few days, make some tweaks and submit again. You can also try submitting the same letter to another paper -- just make sure not to submit the same letter to the same paper in the same 1-2 day period. Take what you create and space it out over different publications and at least a week’s time.

Plan your next tactic and event. Continue your good work and plan your next action. Be sure to post it to the People Power map!

Report back to People Power by filling out this form. 

Please note: As a People Power activist, you don’t represent the ACLU as an organization. You represent your own causes as a concerned constituent and community stakeholder. This is critical to our strength as a movement: As you work on your Freedom Cities campaign, Let People Vote campaign, and other causes, your voices will be stronger as representatives of your community. If anyone is looking for a comment about a formal ACLU position, you can refer them to info@peoplepower.org and we can contact the appropriate ACLU representative.